Kan. agency posting tax guidance ahead of new law

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Revenue is posting guidance regarding two provisions of the state income tax law ahead of changes that take effect in January.
Spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda said Tuesday that the guidance lets accountants, tax attorneys and residents know how the agency will be interpreting inconsistencies within the law. One of the items deals with how the taxpayers will be able to use itemized deductions to reduce their tax liability.
The state also sent out mailers earlier this year to 146,000 businesses to inform them about the new tax law and how it could apply to them.
"The reason for that is that they are the ones who really have to take any action before Jan. 1," Koranda said, such as changing how the business is organized for tax purposes. "Most people won't have to deal with the new law before next year when we send out the tax forms."
Koranda says the revenue department will ask the 2013 Legislature to make changes to the law to codify the guidance.
The state will reduce individual income tax rates, drop the top tax rate to 4.9 percent from 6.45 percent and increase the standard deductions claimed by married couples and heads-of-household. The state also will exempt the owners of 191,000 partnerships, sole proprietorships and other businesses from taxes.
Koranda said the impact will vary depending on each individual taxpayer and how they file their return, including marital status, number of children and how many other deductions or exemptions that are claimed. For example, a married head-of-household tax filer earning $52,000 a year should see about $12 more in a biweekly paycheck.
"One of the other places that people will see is the change in 2014 when they get the higher standard deduction that doubles to $9,000 for married and single head-of-household payers," she said.
Legislative researchers have estimated that the cuts will be worth $4.5 billion over the next six years. But the researchers also project that the cuts will create collective budget shortfalls approaching $2.5 billion during the same period. A group of state officials and economists estimate legislators will have to close a projected shortfall of more than $327 million next spring when they draft the state budget for fiscal year 2014.
Koranda didn't know how many existing businesses might be changing their classification to take advantage of the tax changes.
"Honestly, we won't know if businesses were changing their structures until they file their taxes in 2014 more than a year from now," she said.

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Harbinger Group returns to profit in 4th quarter

NEW YORK (AP) — Harbinger Group it returned to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, buoyed by a large income tax benefit and improved revenue for both its consumer products business and its financial services and insurance segment.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, the New York-based holding company earned $159.1 million, or 78 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $107.1 million, or 77 cents per share, a year ago.
The quarter included an income tax benefit of $135.9 million compared with gain of $13.4 million in the prior-year period.
Revenue shot up 35 percent to $1.2 billion from $888.5 million.
Revenue climbed for the consumer products unit, which includes Spectrum Brands, the company behind products ranging from Rayovac Batteries to George Foreman grills, edged up less than 1 percent to $832.6 million. Revenue for its insurance and financial services segment rose nearly sixfold, to $364.3 million.
Harbinger Group Inc., which is run by hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, said Tuesday said its full fiscal year net income climbed 35 percent to $29.9 million, or 15 cents per share, from $22.2 million, or 9 cents per share, in the previous year.
Annual revenue increased 29 percent to $4.48 billion from $3.48 billion, helped by a full-year of results from Fidelity & Guaranty Life Holdings Inc. Fidelity & Guaranty was acquired in April 2011. In addition, revenue for the consumer products unit, climbed 2 percent.
Fiscal 2012 results included an $85 million income tax benefit and a $41 million gain related to the reduced contingent purchase price of Fidelity & Guaranty. This was somewhat offset by a charge tied to its preferred stock.
Harbinger shares closed Monday at $8.70, and has more than doubled since the start of the year.

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NH health agency seeks $321M more in next budget

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire's biggest agency asked Tuesday for $321 million more from state tax sources in the two-year state budget Gov.-elect Maggie Hassan must present to lawmakers in February.
Health and Human Services Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas testified at a hearing on the request that one of the biggest increases is due to a change in how the state pays nursing homes for Medicaid care. He said the state now must pay nursing homes based on rates, not on what lawmakers budget to spend.
Toumpas is requesting a 25 percent increase in the portion of the agency's budget that's supported by state tax sources. It would increase the funding to $1.6 billion from the current two-year appropriation of $1.3 billion.
The agency's current total budget is $3.7 billion, most of which from federal funds.
"The department — like all state agencies — is in the middle of a storm," Toumpas said.
He said people continue to seek help from the state as a result of the recession, but the numbers have leveled off in all but those needing food stamps. About 25 percent of those who apply for the federal food help are rejected, but the state must provide the staff to make the determination regardless whether they are denied, he said.
Overall, the number of caseloads has risen 15 percent since July 2009. At the same time, the number of filled jobs at his agency dropped 15 percent, he said. In addition, key members of the staff will be eligible for retirement soon, he said. That has caused stress on the staff, he said.
Toumpas said he knows the state has limited funds to provide services to everyone who is in need and promised to continue to try to find savings.
He said he included money cut from the current budget to boost payments to hospitals caring for the poorest residents. Ten hospitals sued over the budget cut in a case still pending in federal court.
Toumpas said a managed care program for Medicaid that was supposed to save $15 million in the current budget still is not operating due to slow negotiations between contractors and the health care providers needed to build a network.
On Monday, Hassan opened the budget hearings with a caution that agency requests are unrealistic. Agencies requested $3.3 billion in spending from state tax sources — a 26 percent increase over the current budget — and $11.9 billion from all funding sources or a 19 percent increase.

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First cracks in GOP resolve on tax rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first cracks are developing among Republicans over whether to accept a quick deal with President Barack Obama on allowing the top two income tax rates to expire, even as an administration official said the White House was stepping up behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Conservative Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole told GOP colleagues in a private meeting Tuesday that it's better to make sure that tax cuts for the 98 percent of taxpayers who make less than $200,000 or $250,000 a year are extended than to battle it out with Obama and risk increasing taxes on everyone.
Cole's remarks are noteworthy because he's a longtime GOP loyalist and a confidant of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. They were made in a meeting of the House GOP Republican whip team, which is a sounding board for GOP leaders.
"If we don't believe taxes should go up on anybody, why can't we accept a deal that takes 98 percent out and still leaves us free to fight on the other grounds," Cole said in an interview on Wednesday. "I'm not for using the American people for leverage or as a hostage."
Meanwhile, an administration official speaking on grounds of anonymity told The Associated Press that two of Obama's top negotiators on the fiscal issues will meet separately Thursday with leading lawmakers.
The sessions are seen as an important step in determining how the government will avoid a year-end package of tax increases and spending cuts that could throw the economy into recession.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House legislative chief Rob Nabors will meet with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, said the official, who said he could not speak on the record because the meetings had not yet been publicly announced.
Some Republicans on the Hill have been worried that the GOP would lose a bargaining advantage by separating tax cuts for the highest earners from everyone else, but Cole said he believes the reverse is true. "I think we have the winning argument," he said. "Most Americans intuitively understand that raising taxes on small business is costing them jobs."
Cole's comments drew a rebuke from Boehner, who is standing firm against Obama's demand that tax rates go up for top earners.
"He's a wonderful friend of mine and a great supporter of mine, but raising taxes on the so-called top 2 percent — half of those taxpayers are small business owners," Boehner said. "You're not going to grow the economy if you raise the top two rates. It'll hurt small business. It'll hurt our economy."
Reaction was mixed to his idea at a Wednesday morning meeting of House Republicans, Cole said. Conservative Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, who said he opposed Cole's idea, said he believed a majority of House Republicans also opposed it.
Cole said he expects to support whatever deficit-cutting deal Boehner is eventually able to negotiate with the White House as the two sides wrangle over how to avoid the "fiscal cliff" mix of tax increases and spending cuts that will occur automatically in January unless lawmakers avert them.
"This is a tactical argument, this is not a theological argument," Cole said. "We don't disagree on what we're trying to do."
Cole's comments were first reported by Politico.
There has been little evident progress between Obama and Boehner in talks aimed at striking a deal to avoid the fiscal train wreck. Republicans are worried that Democrats seem to be taking a harder line on cutting popular benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
"We have not seen any good faith effort on the part of this administration to talk about the real problem that we're trying to fix," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., told reporters.
But House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday that the starting point for talks should be a framework discussed by Obama and Boehner in the summer of 2011. Then, Democrats were willing to consider curbing the inflation adjustment for Social Security and lifting the eligibility age for Medicare — ideas that other top Democrats have taken off the table.
"We can all be there and start with that and go from there to reach an agreement," Pelosi said.
Pelosi made her remarks as she met with prominent business executives and Erskine Bowles, the chairman of Obama's 2010 deficit commission. Bowles and the executives also met with House GOP leaders.
Asked if he sensed Democrats could be more flexible on curbing so-called entitlement programs like Medicare, Bowles said: "I think we will see give in all areas if we're going to get a deal done. If not, we're going to go over this cliff, and I think everybody realizes that would be a disaster."
Obama said Wednesday he still believes that members of both parties can reach a framework agreement on a debt-cutting deal before Christmas.
He made a public statement, joined by about a dozen middle-class Americans who have raised concerns about their taxes going up at the end of the year. He said lawmakers face important deadlines in the coming weeks but the voices of the American people need to be a part of the debate.
The president said that officials need to "approach this problem with the middle-class in mind."
Obama could be in position to blame Republicans if an impasse results in the government going over the so-called fiscal cliff, an economy-rattling set of automatic spending cuts and tax increases from the expiration of longstanding tax cuts made in 2001 and 2003 during the Bush administration.
Democrats already are portraying GOP lawmakers as hostage-takers willing to let tax rates rise on everyone if lower Bush-era tax rates are not extended for the top 2 percent to 3 percent of earners — those with incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for joint filers.
"Right now, as we speak, Congress can pass a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. Everybody's," Obama said. "And that means that 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses wouldn't see their income taxes go up by a single dime."

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Grocery giant Kroger wins $567 million tax fight

(Reuters) - Kroger Co said Thursday it won a tax battle with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which has dropped an effort to collect $567 million in disputed deductions from the grocery giant.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month dismissed the government's claims against Kroger, the Cincinnati-based company disclosed in a securities filing.
The dismissal by a three-judge panel came several weeks following a government move to drop its claims, after pursuing Kroger for nearly a decade, court papers showed.
An IRS spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for Kroger did not immediately return calls requesting comment.
The Justice Department's tax division had appealed an IRS loss last July of two Kroger-related cases in U.S. Tax Court centered on the tax consequences of a transaction involving two grocery chains later acquired by Kroger.
In a securities filing in August, Kroger said that losing the cases would have required it to make an immediate cash payment of up to $567 million to the IRS.
The dispute between Kroger and the IRS centered on a deal involving two Kroger units: Ralphs Grocery Co. and Fred Meyer Inc. Kroger acquired Fred Meyer, a competitor that owned Ralphs, for $13 billion in 1999.
Prior to being bought by Kroger, Ralphs was owned by the Federated Group of Stores. As part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization that involved other Federated units, Ralphs was transferred in 1992 to a group of creditors. In that transaction, the value of Ralphs for tax purposes rose.
Federated had large net losses at the time. As a result, the transfer to creditors generated generous tax deductions, in the form of depreciation, for Ralphs. But over the mid-1990s, the IRS disagreed with the tax consequences of the transfer.
The agency said it was actually a tax-free reorganization that did not allow Ralphs to take the depreciation deductions.
Kroger inherited the IRS dispute through the Fred Meyer acquisition, said Roger Jones of McDermott Will & Emery, the law firm that represented Kroger in the just-dismissed case. He declined to speculate on why the government had dropped its case, saying only that it "spent a long time pursuing it."
Kroger challenged the IRS position in Tax Court in 2006. In 2011, the IRS lost the case and filed an appeal.

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Barea, Wolves snap Thunder's 12-game streak

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been blowing the doors off the rest of the Western Conference in these first two months, playing with the swagger born of their run to the NBA Finals last season.
J.J. Barea and the Minnesota Timberwolves tried to send a message on Thursday night that a second straight trip isn't going to come easy.
Playing with the tenacity that made him so important to the Mavericks' run to the title two years ago, Barea scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves snap Oklahoma City's 12-game winning streak with a 99-93 victory over the Thunder.
Kevin Love had 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and Nikola Pekovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. But it was Barea who was the key, scoring 12 straight at one point for the Wolves to hold off the team with the best record in the league.
"It's important," coach Rick Adelman said of beating the best in the West. "But I would like to see us get to a point where this is not a big deal. It's a big game against the best team, but this is something we can do."
Kevin Durant had 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Thunder, who had not lost a game since Nov. 23 at Boston.
"It's not the end of the world. A lot of people said the world is going to end today, tomorrow, but it's not the end of the world," Durant quipped. "We lost to a good team (Thursday). They came out and played extremely hard and they beat us. We're 21-5 and we've just got to go back and work."
That it was Barea, and not the Olympian Love or the sensation Ricky Rubio who was chiefly responsible was the biggest surprise of all.
Barea didn't join the Timberwolves until training camp had already started last season, then languished through the first injury plagued year of his career. Finally healthy, he's getting back to the super pest that helped the Dallas Mavericks to the title two years ago.
With the Thunder charging early in the fourth quarter, the smallest guy on the court played the biggest.
After Durant's two free throws cut Minnesota's lead to 80-77, Barea hit two 3s and scored on a putback under the rim amid the tall trees, an 8-0 run by himself that gave the Wolves a little breathing room. His long 3 with 5:26 to play made it 92-81, and the Wolves held on.
"I love it," Barea said. "We just needed a little bit more tonight, a little energy and I'm glad I was able to provide that for us tonight."
Barea was also a nuisance on defense, drawing an offensive foul on Durant with 2:24 to play. The normally super-cool Durant uncharacteristically lost his composure, picking up a technical foul for arguing the call as well.
"Seems like him and Kevin Love don't miss against us," Durant said of Barea, who tormented them in the Western Conference finals in 2011 and had a triple-double in a double-overtime loss to the Thunder last season. "Seems like every team has that guy and I think those are the guys against us. Next time we've just got to do a better job."
Serge Ibaka had 14 points and nine rebounds, but Westbrook missed 19 shots and turned the ball over eight times in an off night.
Alexey Shved had 12 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for the Wolves, who are trying to claw their way back to respectability after years at the bottom of the Western Conference.
With a nucleus of Love, Rubio and Pekovic, there is optimism here for the first time in a long time.
The Thunder stormed into Target Center riding the longest winning streak since the team moved to Oklahoma City, bullying opponents by an average of 14.2 points per game as they warm up for a run at a second straight finals appearance.
Rubio was playing his third game since being activated from a torn ACL in his left knee that had kept him out since March 9. He had a scintillating debut last Saturday, throwing no-look passes between his legs and looking as if he'd never left. But it's been slower going in the ensuing two games. He was a non-factor in a loss in Orlando on Monday and had trouble getting going again against the Thunder.
His handle wasn't nearly as sticky as usual and he was thwarted every time he tried to penetrate, then could be seen wincing in pain after an awkward landing on a shot in the second quarter. Adelman immediately pulled him, but Rubio was able to return in the second half.
"We battled, we fought. I'm proud of our guys," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We had a great streak, a great month going. But we lost to a very good team. We knew sooner or later they were going to get hot. They got hot tonight."
NOTES: Kevin Martin did not play for the Thunder because of a right thigh contusion. ... The Timberwolves waived G/F Josh Howard on Thursday after an MRI revealed a torn ACL in his right knee. ... The Thunder lost for the first time in six tries on the second night of a back to back.

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Timberwolves end Thunder's 12-games winning streak

(Reuters) - The Minnesota Timberwolves, boosted by a brilliant fourth quarter from diminutive guard J.J. Barea, got a welcome shot of confidence with a 99-93 win over Oklahoma City on Thursday to snap the Thunder's winning streak at 12 games.
The uplifting win for the T-Wolves, coming off a pair of losses on a California road trip, snapped their own 12-game losing streak against Oklahoma City.
The NBA-leading Thunder battled back after trailing by 14 to move within a point at 76-75 early in the fourth before Barea took over.
Sinking long three-pointers and scrambling under the hoop, Barea scored 10 points in a 12-2 run that restored Minnesota's double-digit lead at 88-77 and then helped the T-Wolves hold off the Thunder the rest of the way.
"The fourth quarter for us has kind of been our Achilles heel this whole season, but we fought through and J.J. Barea was awesome tonight," said Minnesota's All Star forward Kevin Love.
The loss dropped Oklahoma, last year's losing NBA Finalists, to 21-5 while Minnesota improved to 13-11, seven games behind the Thunder in the Western Conference's Northwest Division.
Love led Minnesota with 28 points and 11 rebounds, and center Nikola Pekovic of Montenegro had 24 points and 10 boards, while Puerto Rico's Barea came off the bench to score 18 points.
Three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant paced the Thunder with 33 points, and Russell Westbrook added 30, but Oklahoma City's reserves contributed just seven points in all.
"This is a big win here against one of the top teams in the league," said Love, a team mate of Durant and Westbrook on the U.S. basketball team that won gold at the London Olympics.
"We learned we can fight through and beat any team in the league if we're playing well.
"Soon as guys really get in shape, get back healthy, and Ricky (Rubio) starts playing the way he's capable of playing and gets back from that injury, we're going to be a lot better team."
Spanish guard Rubio, working his way back from a serious knee injury, played 18 minutes without scoring for Minnesota but handed out three assists and had three rebounds.
The Timberwolves used brisk ball movement to spring Pekovic for easy layups and set up Love for open looks beyond the three-point arc as they went on a 19-6 run for a 25-11 lead in the first quarter.
Oklahoma City closed within seven points in the second quarter and got within five after intermission but Minnesota responded each time to restore a cushion, with Barea doing the job in the fourth quarter.
Next up for the Thunder will be a Christmas Day rematch against NBA champions Miami.

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Cheap New York Knicks Tickets: The New York Knicks Have Been Playing Great Basketball This Season, and Whiztix.com Helps Users Get The Best Deals Possible on Tickets

Tickets to see the New York Knicks are a hot commodity in New York City this season. Whiztix.com, a ticket comparison site, can help get the best deals possible on seats.

Ardsley, New York (PRWEB) December 21, 2012
It was believed the Knicks would be a playoff team this season, but no one believed they would have the best record in the eastern conference, especially with Amar’e Stoudemire hurt. The Knicks are off to one of the best starts in franchise history, and Madison Square Garden is rocking with excitement. Tickets to the game this season have been very popular, and fans cannot wait to go cheer Carmelo and the team on. The place to check out for the best deals on New York Knicks tickets is Whiztix.com. The website is a free to use ticket search engine which helps compare multiple event ticket selling sites. All tickets are guaranteed from their respected sites. The site utilizes a simple process to search for specific Knicks game tickets.
New York Knicks tickets are available for every home, and away game. Fans from all over the globe can see the Knicks play and cheer their favorite team to victory. The Knicks have a total of 41 away games giving fans from across the country and globe 41 times to see their team play at other locations besides Madison Square Garden. Knicks fans from California can watch the Knicks take on the Clippers, March 17, 2013 at the Staples Center. The Knicks also play the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena in Miami April 2, 2013 in a showdown that can determine the seeding for the NBA playoffs.
Other cities the Knicks will be visiting between December and April include Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, Orlando, Indiana, Detroit, Boston Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Minnesota, Toronto, Cleveland, San Francisco, Denver, Portland, Salt Lake city, Miami, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Chicago, and Charlotte. Tickets to these games have been selling fast and will continue to do so, because the Knicks have been playing great basketball.

Tickets to Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden are sold out, and extremely hard to obtain for reasonable prices. Even though the Knicks sell out, Whiztix can help save the day. Whiztix helps users search many resale sites at once, to find the cheapest or best deals on seats at the game. For example tickets can still be had for $120 per seat for most of the upcoming games. Madison Square Garden “The World’s Most Famous Arena” is one of the best venues to watch an event and becomes electrifying when the Knicks play. The Knicks have the best home court record in the NBA under Coach Mike Woodson. The Knicks step up their play at the Garden, making MSG one of the hardest places to play in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Knicks players have been playing great team basketball, passing looking for the open man, along with great team defensive.

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Thursday's Scoreboard

Thursday's Games
NBA
Minnesota 99 Oklahoma City 93
Miami 110 Dallas 95
Portland 101 Denver 93
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AHL
Lake Erie 4 Houston 3
Peoria 5 Charlotte 4 (SO)
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U.S. College Football
Poinsettia Bowl at San Diego
Brigham Young 23 San Diego State 6

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NBA standings

Dec 21 (Infostrada Sports) - Standings from the NBA on Thursday

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION

W L PCT GB

1. NY Knicks 19 6 .760 -

2. Brooklyn 13 12 .520 6

3. Boston 13 12 .520 6

4. Philadelphia 12 14 .462 7 1/2

5. Toronto 8 19 .296 12

CENTRAL DIVISION

W L PCT GB

1. Chicago 14 10 .583 -

2. Milwaukee 13 11 .542 1

3. Indiana 14 12 .538 1

4. Detroit 7 21 .250 9

5. Cleveland 5 22 .185 10 1/2

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

W L PCT GB

1. Miami 17 6 .739 -

2. Atlanta 15 8 .652 2

3. Orlando 12 13 .480 6

4. Charlotte 7 18 .280 11

5. Washington 3 20 .130 14

WESTERN CONFERENCE

NORTHWEST DIVISION

W L PCT GB

1. Oklahoma City 21 5 .808 -

2. Minnesota 13 11 .542 7

3. Denver 14 13 .519 7 1/2

4. Utah 14 13 .519 7 1/2

5. Portland 12 12 .500 8

PACIFIC DIVISION

W L PCT GB

1. LA Clippers 19 6 .760 -

2. Golden State 17 9 .654 2 1/2

3. LA Lakers 12 14 .462 7 1/2

4. Phoenix 11 15 .423 8 1/2

5. Sacramento 8 17 .320 11

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

W L PCT GB

1. Memphis 17 6 .739 -

2. San Antonio 19 8 .704 -

3. Houston 13 12 .520 5

4. Dallas 12 14 .462 6 1/2

5. New Orleans 5 20 .200 13

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22 FIXTURES (GMT)

Atlanta at Philadelphia (0000)

Orlando at Toronto (0000)

Milwaukee at Boston (0030)

Indiana at Cleveland (0030)

Washington at Detroit (0030)

Chicago at NY Knicks (0030)

Dallas at Memphis (0100)

New Orleans at San Antonio (0130)

Charlotte at Golden State (0330)

Sacramento at LA Clippers (0330)

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